A Discussion of Education

Linda Underwood Schweigert (left) and Tina Van Meer, the new superintendents at Sevastopol and Gibraltar schools, respectively, met in early July to discuss their new positions and their first impressions of Door County. Photo by Len Villano.

July is a time of transition for two Door County school districts as both Tina Van Meer and Linda Underwood Schweigert, the incoming superintendents for Gibraltar and Sevastopol schools, respectively, began their new positions at the beginning of the month.

While both have been rather busy getting up to speed at their new districts, they were able to make some time to sit down and talk together at the Pulse office in Baileys Harbor. And though they’ve only been on the job a week, the meeting wasn’t their first.

“We had a meeting yesterday,” says Underwood Schweigert. “We have a conference call tomorrow. So we’ll have three days in a row.”

The meeting and conference call are another part of that getting up to speed, a discussion of the recent health care co-operative that Door County’s school districts have entered into. Van Meer and Underwood Schweigert say that the superintendents from the county’s other districts, and the community in general, have been fantastic and greeted them with open arms.

“I received a call just today from the welcoming center, and they’re going to come out and bring brochures and meet with me,” says Van Meer. “People have been very friendly and supportive.”

“That’s one of the reasons I chose to come to Door County and Sevastopol, because the community was just wonderful,” says Underwood Schweigert. “It’s not only met my expectations since I’ve had feet on the ground, but exceeded my expectations.”

Both Van Meer and Underwood Schweigert have a wealth of educational experience under their belts. Van Meer has over 14 years of experience working as a teacher and then a principal at schools throughout Wisconsin and Illinois, and Underwood Schweigert worked as a principal and assistant principal before serving as superintendent of a district near Richmond, Va. for seven years.

They say that there aren’t too many differences from district to district and state to state, but one of the things they say is different about Door County is its commitment to keeping arts and activities in schools.

“We have a heavy emphasis on academics, and we have it up here too, but what I love about Door County is that there’s also that emphasis on arts, activities, and athletics,” says Van Meer. “And it isn’t just about the school; it’s about the community, and how our community supports that.”

“Because of budgets and preferences and issues and priorities, that really has been de-emphasized in so many other places in the nation,” says Underwood Schweigert.

Budgeting is one of the major issues facing both new superintendents due to how high property values and the relatively low student populations at Gibraltar and Sevastopol affect the amount of money the districts can raise via the state’s revenue limit formula.

The Gibraltar School Board has already voted to place a recurring revenue limit override referendum on November’s ballot, and it’s likely that Sevastopol will be placing a referendum for a three-year override on the ballot in April. The referendums are necessary to allow the districts to exceed the state’s cap on school funding that can be raised via property tax.

Van Meer says that the districts’ unique situation is daunting, but that, in a way, it’s also a boon.

“It really gets you to be more involved in the community and transparent, really communicating the priorities of the district with the community,” she says.

“What we do in the schools needs to reflect the values of the community,” adds Underwood Schweigert. “Resources are not unending, and so it’s deciding what those priorities are, which involves school board, community, and staff.”

The new superintendents are also working together with the county’s other districts to implement new common core state standards for English and Language Arts, as well as adapting to a recent waiver of some of the requirements of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as the No Child Left Behind Act.

Van Meer and Underwood Schweigert acknowledge that their work is never-ending, and that they will only be setting the stage for whoever follows them, just as retiring superintendents Steve Seyfer and Steve Cromell set the stage for them.

“The vision is to just create and continue moving forward and hope that what you create is sustainable,” says Van Meer.

“You’re building off the past, and anticipating the future, and sometimes anticipating a future you’ll never see,” says Underwood Schweigert. “It’s never done.”